COLLEGEVILLE, MN, MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation will honor former Head Coach John Gagliardi and the 1965 Saint John's University NAIA national champion football team with the 2015 Murray Warmath Legendary Team Award at the 8th Annual Minnesota Football Honors in Minneapolis. This is the second SJU team to receive the Warmath award. The Johnnies’ 1963 team, which earned the program’s first national championship, was honored in 2013.

Warmath was a head coach at Mississippi State (1952-53) and Minnesota (1954-71). With the Gophers, he won or shared two Big Ten titles and the national championship in 1960. Warmath's teams appeared in two Rose Bowl games, and he posted a career record of 97-84-10.

Defense was the story of the 1965 Saint John's football team. The Johnnies posted four shutouts to start the season, a 16-quarter shutout streak that ended on Oct. 9 against Hamline (a 34-6 SJU win). In total, the Johnnie defense allowed just 20 points in nine regular season games, including six shutouts.

In the NAIA playoffs, Saint John's defeated Fairmont State (W.Va.) 28-7 in the first round of the NAIA playoffs Dec. 4 at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington to earn a spot in the national championship game. In typical defensive fashion, Saint John's shutout Linfield (Ore.) 33-0 in the NAIA title game Dec. 11 in Augusta, Ga. Saint John's allowed just 28 yards rushing and each member of the defensive secondary intercepted an errant Wildcat pass. Senior Stan Suchta ran for three short-yardage touchdowns (2, 4, and 5 yards) to provide more than enough scoring for the dominant Johnnies.

The shutout of Linfield capped an 11-0 (7-0 MIAC) season, the Johnnies' third perfect season under Gagliardi and third in four years.

The Johnnies averaged 233.2 rushing yards and allowed only 112.1 yards of total offense per game. The offensive and defensive lines were anchored by a pair of two-time, All-America tackles, Michael Collins and Fred Cremer. Halfback Jim Shiely, an All-MIAC selection, led SJU with 823 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 157 carries, while Don Nett registered 671 yards and four touchdowns. All-American Tom Gillham and Terry Hartman split time at quarterback, and the duo's favorite target was All-American Dave Griffin, who hauled in 23 passes receptions for 387 yards and five touchdowns. Hartman also doubled as the Johnnies' kicker, converting 26 PAT's and five field goals on the year. Defensive back Pat Whalin was named to the Associated Press' Little All-America first team.

The 8th Annual Minnesota Football Honors, presented by the Minnesota Vikings, will take place Sunday, May 3, 2015 at Hilton Minneapolis. College and professional football Hall of Fame inductees are scheduled to attend the event, and WCCO-TV news personality Frank Vascellaro will return for his eighth year as Master of Ceremonies. The event is open to the public. To register or for additional information about this years Minnesota Football Honors, please visit www.minnesotafootballhonors.com. For sponsorship information, please email lindsay@nffmn.org.

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